Supervisors info:
Γελαδάς Ν., Καθηγητής, ΣΕΦΑΑ, ΕΚΠΑ
Μπογδάνης Γ., Καθηγητής, ΣΕΦΑΑ, ΕΚΠΑ
Πασχάλης Β., Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, ΣΕΦΑΑ, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Due to constant evolution of soccer, there is increased demand for enhanced aerobic endurance performance of soccer players, leading to a heated debate on the choice of optimum training methods that improve both technical and tactical skills of soccer players but also their physiological skills. Running training has been replaced by small-sided games which, however, have some disadvantages. The need for a more efficient training method has led to the creation of soccer specific training. The present study aims to find a soccer specific training that would be practically applicable to coaches, would incorporate as many soccer drills as possible and at the same time it would produce physiological responses capable of significantly improving aerobic endurance. For this purpose, 3 different training methods (running training, small-sided games and soccer specific training) were applied to 8 young, healthy amateur soccer players over 9-week period. The physiological responses measured and compared per training method were heart rate, rating of perceived exertion and blood lactate concentration. The results of the study have shown that soccer specific training produced similar average heart rate values (88,6 ± 2,6% of HRmax) compared to those in running training (89,2 ± 1,5% of HRmax) and statistically significantly higher values than those of in small-sided games (80,8 ± 3,2% HRmax). In conclusion, this study has shown that soccer specific training is able of producing physiological responses that are capable of significantly improving the aerobic capacity of soccer players. It is also a practical solution for coaches, as it is possible to include a large number of players, goalkeepers, while at the same time it consists of multiple soccer drills with or without a ball.
